Dream Chasers
by Enchantable
Summary: With Toothless being protective of the injured Hiccup, the trip back to Berk is anything but uneventful. And when they get back to Berk, well, there are a few new residents waiting for them. Including a Deadly Nadder whose taken a shine to Astrid.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay this fic was born out of a conversation with my friends, one of whom is training to be a doctor. He said that the hardest part of an amputation, literally, is getting through the bone and no matter how hot the fire was, if his leg hadn't been broken it was probably not going to be the only reason he was loosing that foot.**

**I said this was a 3D, CGI movie about dragons, what did facts have to do with any of it?**

**But the plot bunnies got to me so here you go. **

**Warnings; Not for the squeamish. This fics got some descriptions of mangled legs, tourniquet application and what happens to healthcare providers who aren't, you know, experienced. (seriously, it happens). Also, if you've been seriously injured you can wake up, interact with people and do all that and you won't remember a thing. **

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Despite all that had happened, as the boat was lost to the mist, Astrid felt a familiar jab of fear.

Of the dozens of ships that had left to find the nest, only two had been salvaged from the fight with the dragon. After what had happened, Astrid had been too stunned to argue when she had gently been pushed, along with the other young viking 'heroes' onto the first boat that was taking off. She had been all set to argue but when the viking had guided her onto the boat she had found that the words of protest clogged in her too tight throat and it took all she had to walk the few steps up to the deck and drop onto the smooth planks. Someone must have given her a blanket but for the life of her Astrid couldn't remember who it had been. Her thoughts ran together like muddled stew. Their entire world had changed. Not in the blink of an eye but in the decision of young members who should have been the lowest vikings in the pecking order. A part of her still argued that they should have just said 'no'. That when Hiccup lured that massive Nightmare out they should have killed it and waited for their parents. Even, if experience had made it clear, that their parents never would have come back.

Tightening her hands in the fur around her shoulders, Astrid cast her eyes around the boat. There were a few vikings milling about but most had stayed in case of--of whatever could happen while they waited outside the dragons nest. Everyone was tired and, oddly enough, silent. Even Ruffnut and Tuffnut were quiet for once, sitting side by side looking slightly dazed. All of them bore singe marks and bruises. Astrid had a feeling that it would be some time before Snotlout could look any kind of serious since one of his eyebrows was gone. A little while ago she would have found some kind of amusement in that but as she looked at him now all she could think was that it was lucky. That they were all lucky to only come off with bumps, bruises and singe marks. There had been so many killed, far more injured and yet none seemed to matter more than the chief's son. The injured were on boats as well, all having agreed to let them go back first to give them the best chance of, well, making it back. The broken bones were bad, as were the head injuries but by some terrible twist of fate, the only one who had lost a limb was Hiccup.

Astrid looked over at the stern of the boat. Hiccup was surrounded by vikings, muttering about what the best course of action was. Normally they would tend to the wound cauterize the wound. Sometimes they would have to cut further into the healthy flesh to make a rounded end. But at the moment they were just talking, standing around the boy but unable to get close enough to actually inspect the wound.

Toothless wouldn't let them.

Either the dragon had been unaware of the fact the boy was injured or he had been unaware of just how badly the injury was but the moment they had gotten onto the boat the dragon had curled around the boy and hissed at anyone who stepped near him. Even Stoick, who had apologized to the pair--which seemed to be the dragon's requirement for tolerating someone who had hurt Hiccup--had been faced with the very real possibility of being maimed by the Night Fury. They all agreed that they could not stand more injured but they could not just leave the young viking to the Night Fury. Dragons were smart creatures but they were not used to the frailness of the human body. Everyone who tried to approach was forcibly repelled by the Night Fury who seemed determined to protect the boy. Astrid could hear their mutterings and how when each moved forward Toothless growled furiously and tightened himself around Hiccup.

Astrid would never know how she heard the soft, pain filled gasp but somehow, somehow she did.

Her head shot up. The sound was Hiccup, it had to be. Toothless let out a whine and curled further around himself and the boy he was protecting. Pushing aside the fog that had settled over her, Astrid struggled to her feet. Her knees buckled but she forced herself forward. The vikings were beginning to crowd around the boy and the dragon and she could hear Toothless's agitation. Pushing her way through the mess of vikings, Astrid broke through the wall to the clearing where the dragon was curled around Hiccup, making the kind of noises that Astrid had a terrible feeling proceeded him attacking. If he hit them with a fire attack they were as good as dead. The sound came again. Astrid couldn't see Hiccup but she knew he was becoming conscious. If he did now, without anyone there to take care of him--that would be just as terrible. Desperately she looked around at the vikings before realizing that it made sense they were just standing there. Hiccup was the one who knew how to deal with the Night Fury, with all the dragons, not them. But as she listened to Hiccup begin the journey back to consciousness she realized that she was becoming the young man's shot at survival.

For a moment she felt paralyzed. Astrid was used to know what to do. There were manuals for everything--advice for everything and when that failed you picked up an axe and swung it as hard as you could. She had taken solace in that. Words had never been Astrid's strong suite but as long as she was able to fight, being able to speak with eloquence never seemed to matter. Vikings were more about brawn than brains, it was just a fact. And she had dedicated her time to the first of the two without thinking much on the second. But an axe or a cartwheel, none of it would help her here. Her eyes sought out any bit of Hiccup but he was lost to the dragon's form. Toothless's growl rose in volume and she realized he was trying to protect Hiccup from the vikings, trying to mask the sound of the young man's pain with his own. It was primal, it was a survival mechanism--he was taking care of his family the best way that he knew how. As Toothless's gaze swept the vikings, his teeth visible in anger, his eyes finally landed on Astrid.

Surprise flew through the dragon's gaze as his growl faltered. The anger was still there, so was the defensiveness but Astrid could see that the dragon was afraid. The most fearsome dragon, the one they all got told stories about hiding under their beds waiting eat them, and he was afraid. Not for himself but for the young boy he held. He didn't know how to take care of him and he knew it but the dragon refused to trust the vikings with him as well. Astrid felt shame curl through her. The way they had treaded Hiccup--if she was Toothless she wouldn't have let them near him either. The dragon obviously recognized her. His eyes held hers as he looked at her, unsure of what to do. He was set on acting like a dragon protecting another, injured, dragon. But Hiccup wasn't a dragon, he was a boy. A boy who needed help from his people. The kind of help that the dragon couldn't give him. As they looked at each other, a viking stepped forward. Instantly Toothless growled and turned towards the viking, his teeth bared as he drew back, obviously getting ready to breath flame.

"Toothless, no!" Astrid cried desperately.

Perhaps it was surprise or the fact that she had addressed him directly but the dragon froze, swinging his head back towards her. Astrid was suddenly aware of the fact that every eye on the boat was on her. She'd dreamed about the day when all the vikings looked at her, impressed by her skill, by what she could do, but this was different. There wasn't any joy in this and they were not looking at her like she had done something impressive. They were looking at her like they looked at Hiccup when he had first shown up with the dragon. With fear, confusion, distaste--all the terrible things that she had looked at Hiccup with when he first showed her the dragon. Bile rose in her throat. Was this how Hiccup had felt? For almost all his life? Shoving the disgust aside, she focused on the dragon. Toothless had listened to her shout, maybe he would listen to her more. She had to get Hiccup free, had to get him to be able to be helped by the people on the boat. Slowly Astrid took a step forward. Toothless drew back, growling and curling further around Hiccup. But he made no move to attack her.

"Hey there," she began, trying not to feel foolish talking to the dragon, "you remember me--right?" instead of growling, the dragon huffed furiously, making it clear he did not appreciate being talked to like a child, "its okay," she said taking another step, "you're doing a good job protecting him--" she stepped around him. The dragon followed her, curling in response to keep Hiccup protected from the vikings, "can I see him?" she asked, trying to look at the dragon in a way that would let him know that she didn't want to hurt Hiccup, "please?" she asked.

Toothless let out huff before drawing back and letting out a loud whine, curling himself so that he was still protecting Hiccup from the other vikings. Slowly he opened his paws and laid lengthwise, revealing Hiccup. The young viking was on his side, his ruined leg over his whole one. His eyes were closed but his feature were tight with pain. He wasn't truly conscious, not yet. And if he did she knew he wouldn't be coherent. Looking at him, she thought there was no reason to be worried. The flames had cauterized the wound. Then she saw just how dark his pants were. There was something else wrong, perhaps the wound had not been cauterized completely. Blood soaked his pants, not enough to spread around him in a puddle but enough to make his skin very pale. Leg wounds always bled badly but this, this was the kind of bleeding that killed someone. Her eyes must have widened or her breath must have caught because Toothless let out a sound of pure fear, wrapping around Hiccup in an act of protection and desperation. He knew something was wrong but the dragon didn't know what. A sound escaped Astrid's lips as Hiccup's form was lost to the dragon once more.

"Hiccup--" Astrids eyes flew around the vikings who now looked at her with confusion and she realized her terror must have shown on her face. As she fought back panic, Astrid looked at Toothless. The dragon didn't look angry anymore, now he looked scared. And he was looking at her. By some odd twist of fate the girl who would have been the strongest dragon hunter was the one who had to convince the dragon to let the boy go, "he's really hurt," she said, her voice nowhere near as steady as she wanted, "please, you have to--you have to let them help him--" Toothless let out an inquisitive sound, his eyes fixed on her, "me? No, I don't know--I don't know what to do. They do--" he tightened around Hiccup, "Toothless--"

"Its okay!" a voice called, "we'll talk you through it!" murmurs of agreement went up from the vikings.

Astrid met the dragon's scared gaze. She could do some healing, all viking women could, but there was a difference between healing and what was going to be required to stop the bleeding. This was a field dressing, one that was designed to keep a person alive until more could be done off the boat. Field dressings were usually more painful than the wound itself. And when Hiccup reacted, was Toothless going to let her finish? So many questions and yet the memory of the blood seeping through Hiccup's pant legs made her shove the questions aside. Sitting letting Hiccup bleed out was not an option. So despite her reservations, Astrid looked up at the vikings and then at the dragon.

"Okay," she said, "okay, I'm going to help Hiccup. You can help me, okay?" she said pushing her hair out of her eyes and looking at Toothless. The dragon quickly showed her Hiccup, "he's bleeding really badly from his leg," she said to the vikings.

"You've got to stop the bleeding!" they called back, "use a tourniquet."

With a bit of fumbling, Astrid pulled the band holding her hair off her forehead off. Putting it to the side she reached out and turned Hiccup onto his back. The young viking let out a shuddering breath. He was awake enough to feel that, what would he do for the tourniquet? Toothless hovered over the viking, looking a him and then at the girl, anxiousness written over his face. Astrid looked up at the dragon before grabbing the strip of leather.

"I'm going to use this to stop the bleeding," she said looking up at him, "he's going to hurt but its the only way to save him--" Toothless watched her carefully as she moved her arm to Hiccup's chest, "can you hold him down?"

Cautiously the dragon reached out with a paw and laid it on Hiccup's chest, mimicking her movement, his eyes watching her. Astrid nodded quickly before tying a knot in the band. Turning back to the boy laying there, she reached out and touched his leg. Even the touch had his body tensing, shifting away from him. As if reading her mind, Toothless's paw went lower on his chest, his other pressing onto Hiccup's forehead as he held the boy down. Astrid grabbed her knife, sliding it under the pant leg as quickly as she could and slicing the blood soaked fabric away from the limb. She had never been squeamish but she had never seen an injury as bad as the one in front of her. The burns went up his leg further than she'd though, the skin spotted and blackened. The flames had cauterized some of the wound but she could see that it was not a precise thing. Toothless turned his head away, closing his eyes as though ashamed of what was being seen. Astrid looked down closer at the leg. Some of the skin was jagged.

Like it had been bitten.

"Oh Toothless," Astrid looked over at the dragon who had his head down, curled towards Hiccup. If a dragon could cry, Astrid had a feeling that the Toothless would have been in tears. Clearly the flames had been the real problem but if the dragon had bit his foot, if he'd broken the bone, that would have made it easier for the flames to burn away everything else, "its--"

Hiccup jerked. Astrid scrambled forward as more blood began to seep out of the ruined skin. Toothless hugged the boy tighter as Astrid quickly threaded the makeshift tourniquet around his leg, pulling the strap through the loop. Studying the angle, she moved her hand for the most efficient movement possible. Raising her head, she looked over at the dragon. Toothless opened an eye and looked at her. The young viking held the dragons gaze as long as she could before, with a quick, efficient movement, she yanked the tourniquet into place.

Hiccup let out a strangled, desperate sound, his body arching with the agony.

Toothless let out a yelp, burying his nose in the space between his viking's nose and neck.

Astrid tightened her grip on the leather, closing her eyes and biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.

Forcing her eyes open, Astrid looked down to make sure that the tourniquet was tight enough. The blood that stained his leg was bad but there wasn't any new blood spurting out as the tourniquet did its job. Astrid's hands shook as she rested them on her knees, looking at the tourniquet. It was working. The thought occurred to her from some great distance. She raised her eyes to see Toothless still holding Hiccup tightly. Astrid looked up to see the other vikings watching them carefully, none strangers to pain and suffering. Bile climbed her throat as she looked down at her hands. Hands stained with Hiccup's blood. The older vikings were used to it but the young ones--the ones like her--they should have been tending to bruises and bumps, not full on amputations. Astrid tried to force the bile back but this time her stomach fully rebelled. The idea of looking foolish in front of the others, of being laughed at all flew out of her head as she staggered to her feet and raced over to the side of the boat. She barely made it to the edge before she emptied the meager contents of her stomach over the side of the boat.

She had barely eaten anything in the past two days but she felt like she was doubled over, heaving for hours. The sounds that Hiccup and Toothless had made jumbled through her head until they became a single, torturous sound. The worst part of it was that a few days ago she wouldn't have cared. Not if a dragon had been hurt and certainly not if Hiccup, the whimpy, loser with some equally whimpy, loser-y secret had been hurt. Two days. Two days to prove everything she'd believed was wrong. Just the implications were enough to make her head spin, much less the actual effects. She had never been nice to Hiccup, she'd never even given him a second thought until he started becoming good. And then the thoughts she'd had about him were anything but nice. She'd known him practically all her life and as she stood, doubled over the boat, she realized that the most she could tell anyone about him was that he was brave, stupid, crazy, a decent blacksmith and he had a dragon. Anyone could have told you those things. And yet she was the one that Toothless let near him.

Slowly Astrid raised her head. He was probably still hurt, though not as badly as the leg injury. Wiping her mouth higher up on her arm to avoid the blood on her hands, Astrid turned her head. Toothless's head was on the deck next to Hiccup's but his gaze was locked on her. Astrid turned around and faced the dragon fully, taking a step from the side of the boat. This time when her legs bucked, something black and scaly shot towards her. Instinctively Astrid grabbed it for support, belatedly realizing it was Toothless's tail. The dragon let out a sound when her hand connected with the black flesh but he held fast. Astrid held onto the tail, her eyes following her hand to see that Hiccup was not the only one to be scathed by the dragon's flame. Toothless was largely uninjured, dragons were tougher than humans, but the buckle of his tail fin was metal. Astrid moved her hand quickly away from the burn of the dragon's tail. It was a minor injury but he was hurt none the less. Astrid moved back towards the boy and his dragon, moving on her own wobbling strength but the black tail followed her back just in case.

"I--I have the tourniquet in place," she called over the dragon's back, "I'm going to check to make sure he's okay," she looked at Toothless, "we'll fix your tail too okay?"

The assurance seemed silly but she said it anyway, as much for herself, Toothless and Hiccup as the other vikings gathered there. As she knelt next to Hiccup, Toothless slowly moved his paw off the young viking's chest. Hiccup was still, only the quick rise and fall of his chest showing he was alive. Astrid quickly began to see if anything else was out of place. Nothing stuck out to her eye. Toothless watched her carefully as she reached for the straps of the harness. It took a few tries for her fingers to get the buckles to open but she did, moving the straps off his chest. Reaching out, she grabbed the edge of his shirt and eased it up to check for bruises. She forced back another wave of nausea at the sight of his chest. Bruises, too dark to have been from this marred his chest. Riding a dragon didn't look smooth and Hiccup had been doing it by trail and error. There were new marks too, angry reddened skin from the jerking of the harness. There was also a deep welt from where the harness must have tugged free. All looked painful, but none looked life threatening. Astrid looked up at Toothless.

"Can you help me sit him up?" she asked the dragon.

Toothless nudged Hiccup into a sitting position, settling the boy with his paws. Astrid lifted his shirt on the back. There were other marks there too, angry and painful but not life threatening. Toothless laid him down as Astrid began to move her hands across Hiccup's arms. Neither of his shoulders seemed to be dislocated but as she ran her hands down his arms, she realized that the skin was not smooth. Pushing aside any feeling of foolishness, Astrid grasped Hiccup's wrist and pushed back his sleeve. Her eyes widened as she looked at the marks on his hands and forearms. She knew enough to recognize a burn scar when she saw it but these, these weren't healed as properly as they should have been. Especially the older ones. He was a blacksmith apprentice, of course he would have been burned. But it seemed like, at least in the beginning, he had been hiding the evidence of being burned. Like even as a child he had been ashamed of messing up. Astrid shook her head softly as she eased his sleeve back down over the injury. Toothless whined softly and held Hiccup a bit closer.

"Okay I need to look at your tail now," she said moving over to the side towards his tail. Toothless moved it away from her. Astrid moved forward again but the dragon moved his tail once more, "Toothless, you're hurt too!" she cried but the dragon's tail shot up strait into the air in defiance. Getting to her feet, Astrid came to the front of the dragon. With his arms still around Hiccup and his head buried near the boy's ear, Toothless kept his tail right up in the air, "Toothless," Astrid said, trying to soften her voice, "we've gotta make sure your tail doesn't get worse or--or you won't be able to fly," Toothless looked down at Hiccup and then back at her, "you can stay with him, he'll be fine--"

Perhaps Toothless was more in tune with the boy than any of them had ever been or perhaps dragons were more in tuned with the physical aspects involved with waking up. But for whatever reason, Toothless's paws changed quicker than Astrid had seen the dragon move and in the next instant, Hiccup's eyes snapped open.

There wasn't any recognition or coherency in them. Only pain, fear, confusion--a hundred emotions that made her mind go blank as she saw his lips part as his body convulsed. He seemed to be in too much pain to scream, as if the air in his lungs had been knocked out as well. She and Toothless scrambled for his leg, pressing down as best they could as his body arched with the agony of waking to having his leg severed. Astrid saw Toothess's wings snap out in an instinctive reaction, to protect Hiccup. Her mind was too riddled with panic to figure out what would happen if Hiccup was isolated, only that it would be bad. Using every ounce of speed and skill that she possessed, Astrid rolled forward so that when Toothless's wings snapped over them he took her with him. Instantly she found herself in he darkness of the dragon's wing. He hadn't pulled Hiccup to his chest, thankfully, but it was still pitch black.

"Hiccup!" Astrid's hand found the trembling one of the boy, "Hiccup can you talk? Say something--" there was nothing but choked gasps, "Hiccup!"

"'Sstrid?" the mangled pronunciation of her name was the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard.

"I'm here," she said quickly, using where his voice was to get closer to his face, "I'm here," she repeated, her hand covering his.

"M'I dead?" he slurred out, "'so dark in here--"

"Toothless has you, we're fine," she said.

"Toothless s'dead?" he said, his voice odd.

"N-no," she said shaking her head, "you're both going to be fine," she squeezed her eyes shut, half surprised at the burning she felt in them, "you'll both be fine," she repeated, her voice emphatic as she willed him to believe her.

"C-can't feel my--"

"You'll be fine," she said firmly, not letting him finish that sentence, "you trust me right?"

"Your t'the best viking," Hiccup said, his words still slurred, "'course I do," he closed his eyes, "m'glad you found us."

Astrid closed her eyes as the burning got worse. After all that she'd done he was still happy that she had been the one who found him. Her heart tightened in her throat as she felt her fingers tighten over his hand as he gave a shuddering breath before a low moan of pain escaped his lips. Astrid looked down at him, trying to see through the blackness. It did not work. She could no more see though the darkness than grow wings and fly. The darkness was a saving grace though, since it kept it from being visible that her eyes were watering. She felt them, the tears, though she knew it had been a very long time since she had cried from anything but frustration. But this, this was something else entirely. She felt the tears slip down her cheeks but she hadn't been aware any had fallen on him until his voice reached her ears.

"Why're you cryin'?" he asked.

"I--" her own tone was choked, "I'm sorry," she whispered, closing her eyes, "I've-I've known you for so long and I--i don't know the first thing about you," she bowed her head in shame, feeling her shoulders shake as a sob worked its way through her throat, "and I'm sorry--" she shook her head, "I'm so sorry."

His hand turned over in her grasp, so that her hand was not touching the back of his hand but rather was palm to palm with his own. Slowly his fingers curled weakly over her own.

"S'okay," he whispered, "don'worry 'bout it."

Astrid's hand grasped his tightly. Missing most of his leg, the rest of him bumped and bruised, he could barely speak coherently and yet he was comforting her.

"A'strid--" his voice reached her again, fainter this time, "y'gotta feed 'im," Toothless let out a wine, "s'been--"

"I'll feed him," she said quickly.

"No eels," he said, "he--he hates eels--" his hand tightened against hers, "me too."

"I hate them too," Astrid said.

"See?" Astrid's eyes widened, "you learned some'thin already."

Astrid let out a wet laugh.

"Mmmhmm," Hiccup made a sound, more incoherent than anything else, "m'sleepy."

"Okay, its, its okay," she said, fumbling with the words as her throat was still clogged with tears, "you go to sleep. And when you wake up, we'll be back in Berk. You, me, Toothless--everyone. So just--just close your eyes and when you wake up we'll be home."

Hiccup made a distinctly softer sound. In the darkness, Astrid pressed a hand to his chest. The inhale and exhale was unsteady, slightly irregular but it was still there. He was alive. Even when his fingers uncurled from her own she kept her hand tight around his weathered and calloused palm. Slowly Toothless raised his wing, looking down at the two vikings inquisitively. His eyes went from the girl to the boy and back again before he made a sound of distaste, snorting and shaking his head before folding his wing next to his body and releasing the two vikings. Astrid looked much more closely at the leg but the tourniquet was holding steady, the flow of blood stemmed almost nudged Hiccup but the young viking remained unconscious this time. The dragon looked up at Astrid, letting out a low, inquisitive sound.

Astrid smiled up at the dragon.

"Are you hungry boy?"

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**Okay I know I should be updating "By Land and Sea" but whatevs, the plot bunnies got to me--I blame easter. **

**I suppose that this could tie in with "of Hills and Bluebells" AND "By Land and Sea" but it could also stand alone.**

**Next time its time for the Nadder to enter! **

**Don't forget, if you want to use any of the dragon names you must ask me first. I thought that this would be obvious but, annoyingly, this fandom has proven me wrong.**

**So remember, please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Whoever had called Astrid Hofferson stubborn had never met Toothless the dragon.

In spite of being hurt and hungry, he refused to budge. And considering that he'd realized Astrid could take care of Hiccup, he refused to let her do the same. Every attempt she made at getting out from under the dragon's massive wing had been thwarted by either a tail or a nose that effectively stopped her from running. She had been comparing the black wing to a tent in her head but as she sat there, effectively trapped, Astrid decided she was going to have to think of the place as a living, breathing, cave. There was just no escaping from where she was. Toothless was determined to keep Hiccup safe and, for better or worse, he had decided that the boy's safety was directly tied to Astrid and as long as they were around what he deemed a threat, she wasn't going anywhere.

"This is ridiculous," Astrid let out a frustrated breath, leaning back against Toothless's wing as his tail slid around to prevent her from escaping, "you're hurt too you know!" she called to the dragon who answered with a huff, "don't make that sound. You are!"

A low sound reached her ears. Astrid looked over at the dragon through the darkness in his wing. The boat suddenly pitched to one side. Astrid lunged forward, holding Hiccup down as the boat rocked. Toothless tightened around them, continuing to growl at something she could not see. Astrid pressed her hands to Hiccup, one to his chest and the other to his thigh, silently praying that the dragon wouldn't curl tightly enough to open Hiccup's injuries-or add to them. The growl pitched, rising in volume and intensity and Astrid realized that it wasn't just one dragon growling. Toothless was the loudest but there was a high pitched one just underneath his. Pressing an ear to his wing in hopes of hearing it better, Astrid listened as the growl dissolved into a series of clicks and whistles before a long, high pitch sound echoed through Toothless's wing and the boat rocked as something dropped heavily onto the deck and continued to wail.

There was only one type of dragon that made whistles like that and had such a heightened sense of smell: The Deadly Nadder. From the sniffing and whistling, the Nadder seemed to be looking for something. Something or someone. Astrid sucked in her breath as the realization crashed in on her that the Nadder was looking for _her_. The other thumps had probably been the other dragons they had ridden in the battle. The Nadder continued to wail miserably. Astrid flattened her hands again Toothless's wing but the dragon refused to move from his protective position.

"Toothless-Toothless!" Astrid pressed her hands to the skin of his wing, "you've gotta let me out!"

Suddenly the wing was pressed inwards. Astrid lost her balance, landing squarely on her behind as the Nadder's nose pressed against Toothless's wing. She heard the sound of nostrils expanding before the wing retracted and another loud whine was heard before the nudging resumed. Astrid had a feeling that the only reason Toothless hadn't eaten the dragon nudging him was because he wanted to keep her and Hiccup safe. Astrid flattened her hand against the skin of the dragon's wing as the nudging nose pressed against the wing where her hand was. This time though it did not retract, it remained there as the dragon sniffed to confirm who she was. Astrid kept her and there as the dragon sniffed at her before letting out a sharp sound. Toothless echoed the noise with a loud one of his own, growling at the dragon who was sniffing at his wing and the girl underneath it.

"Toothless, please!" Astrid cried, her voice interrupting the two dragons, "I know the boat looks big but its really not. You've got to let me out-Hiccup's alright, I promise. No-one's going to hurt him-him or me," Astrid touched the dragon's wing, "just let me out for a second okay?"

Slowly the wing rose as light streamed in. Astrid glanced back at Hiccup who was still pale and still alive. She let out a breath of relief. He was okay, or as okay as he could be. Suddenly the light was blotted out by a shape and that was all the warning Astrid got as something hooked underneath her belt and dragged her out from under Toothless's wing.

Astrid cried out before she could stop herself as the boat lurched. She was dangling from something-something living and breathing and _sniffing_ her. Twisting around, Astrid realized that she was being held up by the Nadder, the dragon's horn hooked clean through her belt. Unfortunately that meant she was dangling square in the dragon's blind spot and though the Nadder had seen her, it was confused as to what to do next. As it turned his head from side to side Astrid found she was helpless to react or to move or to really do anything but dangle in front of the Nadder's blind her head, Astrid looked around. Toothless had grabbed Hiccup and was refusing to let anyone near him and the rest of the boat had erupted into chaos as dragons found the humans they had bonded with. More chaos and Astrid knew they're chance of getting home in one piece was going to be non-existant. So she did the only thing she could think of. She tried to get the Nadder's attention.

"Hey-hey!" she called out, "over here!" the Nadder twisted its head, trying to find her, "I'm right-" Astrid stopped as the Nadder tried and failed to locate her, "here," Astrid finished, blowing her bangs out of her eyes, "damn it," she swore, knowing the situation was going to get worse before it got better.

Her fingers quickly found the buckle of her belt and undid it, dropping to the ground.

Landing on her feet, Astrid turned around and looked up. The dragon had turned her head and one luminous gold eye was fixed on the girl and suddenly Astrid found it impossible to move. She still had a bruise on her arm from when her shield had been slammed against the joint by the Nadder's blast. Now the Nadder was not blasting her, it was staring at her, its one bright gold eye locked on her face. Behind her she heard Toothless let out a low sound of warning but she could look nowhere but the Nadder's eye. The dragon made no move to sniff her or to even confirm it was her, it just _looked_ at her. Astrid forced herself to hold eye contact with the dragon, though she wanted nothing more than to get the nearest weapon and cut it down.

Except, that it didn't look quite as deadly as it should have with her belt dangling from its nose horn.

Shakily, Astrid moved her hand forward. The Nadder jerked back at the movement, the gold eye leaving her and locking on the hand. The Nadder's head dove before she could snatch her hand back. Instead of eating her hand, however, the Nadder batted her nose against it, sniffing her before rubbing back and forth. It felt so strange and looked so weird that Astrid couldn't help but smile at the gestures of the Nadder. The dragon's head flew up abruptly, moving back to Astrid before dipping down. Astrid moved with the dragon and the Nadder let out a huff of frustration. She realized that the dragon was inspecting her for injuries. Swallowing her fear down, Astrid held herself still and let the dragon perform its inspection of her.

Toothless let out a low sound, glaring at the pair of them. With a guilty jolt, Astrid realized that the dragon was probably still hungry, definitely still hurt and clearly still untrusting of everyone on the boat. Astrid looked over at the Nadder beside her before looking back at Toothless. The black dragon glared at her, his tail tightening around Hiccup. Astrid moved forward, towards the Night Fury, only to ind herself blocked by the Nadder who positioned itself so that one of its eyes was fixed on her, the other fixed on Toothless. Astrid stared as she realized that the dragon was protecting her from the Night Fury.

"Oh crap," she muttered, looking between them before fixing her eyes on the Nadder, "look my friend there is hurt and I need to get to him-_now_ okay?" the Nadder didn't move, "so you need to move," Astrid said, garnering no response from the Nadder, "you can't even understand me, can you?" she sighed, crossing her arms.

The Nadder let out an outraged squawk, its head flying up as it looked at her. Astrid stared at the dragon, getting the oddly certain impression that the dragon was offended at what she had said. Astrid moved forward and while the Nadder followed her with its sharp gaze, her belt still dangling ridiculously from its nose, it did not stop her from approaching Toothless. Unfortunately Toothless was not as forgiving of her being pulled away from Hiccup. Keeping her eyes on the dragon, Astrid moved over to the side of the boat where the other vikings were standing.

"I need fish," she said, turning to the first viking she saw.

"Fish?" Gobber stepped over to her, "they eat sheep, don't they?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head, "Hiccup said that-" she swallowed, "he eats fish."

Gobber looked at her before shrugging his shoulders, obviously willing to go along with what the girl had said. He walked towards the back of the boat, pushing people gently aside as he did. Astrid quickly trotted after him, watching as he opened one of the baskets and inspected its contents before hefting it and carrying it back over to the dragon in the center. Toothless growled low in his throat at the sight of the pair of them, his eyes narrowing at the Nadder voiced its own outrage.

"No need to get all upset," Gobber said, as if it was perfectly natural to talk to dragons rather than kill them, "nothing like fighting dragons to work up an appetite," he tipped the basket over, revealing the fish to Toothless, "here you go."

Toothless sniffed at the fish and then looked at Gobber, before looking down. Unlike most of the vikings, Gobber did not seem to need to apologize to the dragon but as she looked at the blacksmith, Astrid realized that Gobber was the only viking who had never stopped believing in Hiccup. How Toothless knew that, Astrid had no idea but the dragon leaned forward and grabbed the first of the fish, not releasing his hold on Hiccup as he did.

"His tail," Astrid began, looking at dragon, "we have to fix his tail-" she looked up at Gobber, "he's hurt."

"Hold on," Gobber said, pulling off his pack and grabbing a roll of bandages and a small jar, "I don't think he's going to let me do it."

"No, I can," she said, taking them from him and turning back to the dragon, "hey," she said approaching the dragon, "i'm going to fix your tail now, okay?"

Toothless's head swung towards her, his eyes inspecting the ointment before he turned back to the fish, not removing his paws from Hiccup. Astrid moved forward towards the dragon's tail. The buckle had left a shiny burn of skin but it didn't seem too bad. Astrid put the ointment on the bandage and carefully began to put it on the dragon's wound. Toothless ignored her, focusing on the fish in front of him.

When Astrid had tied off the bandage, she leaned back from the dragon, not even feeling it when her weight took her heavily to the wood of the boat. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, as if she was in a a dream.

Astrid still felt dazed as they got off the boat.

Those who had stayed behind were all shocked, but none were foolish enough to ask what had happened as Stoick carried his son towards the great hall. It was the closest building, one that had been used as a makeshift hospital many times before. Like the rest of the people who had been on the boat, Astrid followed him. No-one spoke, not even to whisper to their friends. All were silent as they moved into the building itself. They all filed silently in, members of the tribe surrounding a wounded friend. If he'd been awake, Astrid knew Hiccup would have been surprised but happy to, for once, just be treated like any other member of the Tribe.

Stoick laid Hiccup out on the long wooden table. Astrid couldn't help but think how impossibly small he looked laying there on the wood. The boy who had just saved their lives, who had saved them all, and yet he barely took up the space of a large dinner platter on the viking's massive table. People began to crowd in, elders and vikings all with ideas of what to do. Astrid felt her pelvis bump the table as she was jostled but she gripped the edges of the wood, refusing to be moved anywhere. With the light of the fire she could see just how pale was. The blood that had soaked his pants was still damp and tacky, her headband somehow strangely stark against the wet fabric. She heard people around her but she could not bring herself to look anywhere but Hiccup's white features.

"Alright," Gobber said, his tone struggling to be cheerful, "lets see what we've got here," he said, reaching out and carefully peeling back the edge of the green fabric.

If she had not already been sick, Astrid was certain she would have been at the sight of the mangled flesh. Like the rest of Hiccup, the light made it seem much worse. But of what she was seeing, the worst part was the jagged edges and the blackened flesh. He had barely lost past his ankle but she could see the damaged flesh went past his knee. The worst of it was below. His skin was spotted with burns so deep that the flesh around them was white and brown. In a few places she thought she could see the shine of muscle, the white of bone but she couldn't be sure. Clenching her eyes, she turned her face away, forcing back the roll of her stomach.

"Well we're gonna need to do something about that," Gobber said, shaking his head.

"How much?" Stoick asked, his voice a deep rumble.

"I'd say to here," Gobber said moving his hand up higher on Hiccup's leg.

The Chief was silent as he looked down at the mangled limb. Astrid desperately wished that she knew what he was thinking-what any of them were thinking. Gobber was proof that Viking's survived loosing limbs all the time, but she knew he had been older when that happened. Like the rest of them, Hiccup was barely through being a child. Suddenly Astrid felt incredibly young. They all were young and yet now Hiccup was going to be like this for the rest of his life. The thought alone was enough to make it hard to breath as tears threatened her eyes once more. Even the knowledge that Toothless was there did nothing to make her feel better. Hiccup didn't deserve this, not after the wonderfully brave, stupid-heroic thing he had done.

She was so lost in her thoughts that when the tide of people began to leave, she was surprised.

They pushed against her like an invisible force, separating her from Hiccup. Through the gaps in the people she could see Gobber turn towards the fire, moving things around as Stoick clasped his hands by his head near his son. They were going to cut through Hiccup, they were going to make the wound a clean cut. Hiccup was delirious but he wasn't fully unconscious. He had woken up when she had put the tourniquet on his leg. He was going to wake up when they cut through his flesh. But he wouldn't have Toothless or her there. It was his father's privilege, his father's right to be the one by his son, but all that Astrid knew was that if Hiccup opened his eyes without Toothless there he was going to be much worse off.

"No-" she fought against the men, but they were huge, "wait-I have to-" she tried to get through, "Hiccup!"

The doors slammed shut.

"Hiccup!" Astrid slammed her hand on the door.

The men departed, moving aside. There was nothing that they could do now. The cool breeze outside the hall was like a slap in the face. Pressing her cheek to the cold wood of the door, Astrid strained to hear what was going on inside. She thought she hard the sound of blades being sharpened but she couldn't be certain. The door had not been designed to be heard through, quite the opposite, though every child in Berk had tried to hear through it.

A whine drew her eyes over to the Night Fury. Toothless whined and scratched at the wall. After all the protectiveness that the dragon had shown towards Hiccup, to see him out there with her was surprising, but Astrid knew it was for the best. Toothless had barely tolerated it when Hiccup had screamed once. She didn't know how he would take it when the young viking was having his leg cut off.

The dragon let out another mournful sound before turning and looking at her. Something hot and shameful pricked at the back of her eyes as she looked at the dragon with a bandage tied around the burn mark on his tail. He didn't deserve this, none of them deserved what was happening to them, least of all Toothless and Hiccup. Astrid bit her bottom lip, fighting back the tightness in her throat. Toothless took a step forward, sniffing at her, his warm breath brushing her face as he looked at her curiously.

A strangled yell drew both their eyes back to the doors.

Horror flooded Astrid's system. She had heard men scream before when they were being healed but this was different. This wasn't the scream of a hardened warrior, who had known for years that he would loose a limb in the line of duty. Hiccup was a kid, a kid who had no business loosing a limb, much less to the very creatures he had done his best to protect. She heard a hiss as Toothless flattened his ears in an effort to tune the sound out. Astrid leaned back against the door. It hurt to hear the suffering of the boy on the other side but there was nothing that could drown out those sounds.

And nothing that could make her leave her spot.

Even if it was nothing that she could do, leaving was unfathomable. Another sound came from inside the room, loud enough to make it through the doors. Even in his delirium, Hiccup still tried to hold back the sounds of his torture. Astrid slid down the door, sitting on the smooth stone in front of the imposing facade. Drawing her legs up to her chest, Astrid wrapped her arms around them and buried her forehead in her knees.

She felt something brush her arm. Lifting her head, she looked over to see Toothless lean his head against her, his tale coming around behind her. The dragon looked as miserable as she felt, his large eyes sad as he rested his head on the ground next to her. A whistle sounded beside her. Astrid looked in the other direction to see the Nadder peer around the side of the building, obviously not liking where she was. But the dragon moved forward, one of its gold eyes locking on her curiously.

Belatedly Astrid realized that neither dragon had seen a human so close to tears before.

The thought of that and the realization that _she_ was close to tears only made it harder to keep them at bay. Hiccup cried out again and she heard the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. She could almost see the sight of Stoick jumping to his feet quickly enough to knock over the bench as he held his son down so that Gobber could make a clean cut. Miserably Astrid wished that the young viking would just pass out, so that his suffering would end. But for all his faults, Hiccup was stubborn and Astrid knew he'd stay conscious for longer than it even made sense.

Biting her lip harder, Astrid looked at the stone between her feet. In moments the grey was lost to the tears that threatened her eyes. Astrid let out a shaky breath, fighting the urge to cry. She hadn't cried since she was a child and her father hadn't come back from a hunting mission. Pressing her lips together she tried to fight against the overwhelming desire to sob. But so much had changed in the past two days, the entire world had been turned upside down and the only person who knew how to make sense of anything was screaming on the other side of the door. Suddenly it was too hard to hold in the tightness in her chest and the burning in her eyes.

For the first time since she was a little girl, Astrid Hofferson buried her face in her knees and wept.


End file.
